India’s emphatic victory in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup final not only brought sporting glory but also created history in digital viewership. The final against New Zealand registered an unprecedented 74.5 crore concurrent viewers on the JioHotstar streaming platform when the last New Zealand wicket fell, marking the highest peak concurrency ever recorded for a live cricket broadcast online.
India defeated New Zealand by 96 runssecuring their third T20 World Cup title and becoming the first team to win the tournament on home soil.
Viewership climbs steadily through the final
The viewership numbers grew consistently as anticipation for the final built up. Even before the cricket action began, the event had already drawn significant attention from fans across the country.
Around 2.1 crore viewers tuned in during the pre-match entertainment featuring singer Ricky Martin. The number rose to 4.2 crore during the tossreflecting the growing excitement surrounding the final.
Even before the first ball of India’s innings was bowled, the live stream had already touched 6.5 crore concurrent viewersmatching the previous record set during the India vs England semi-final earlier in the tournament.
Records shattered as match progressed
As the match unfolded, viewership continued to surge. By the end of India’s innings, the live stream recorded 43.9 crore viewerswhich increased slightly to 44.3 crore during the innings break.
When New Zealand began their chase of a daunting 255-run targetthe viewership climbed further to 49.9 crore. By the end of the first over of New Zealand’s innings, it had crossed 50.3 crore concurrent viewers.
The numbers reached their peak in the 19th overwhen India took the final wicket to secure the championship. At that moment, concurrent viewership hit 74.5 crorehighlighting the massive popularity of cricket in India.
Interestingly, viewership continued to grow even after the match ended, reaching 82.1 crore during the post-match presentation ceremony.
Previous streaming records surpassed
The final comfortably surpassed earlier digital viewership records for cricket matches. The India vs England semi-final had previously set a peak concurrency of 6.5 crore viewers on the same platform.
Similarly, the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 final between India and Australia had recorded 5.9 crore peak concurrent viewers on the then streaming platform.
The 2024 T20 World Cup finalwhere India ended a 13-year wait for an ICC trophy, had seen 5.3 crore peak concurrent viewers on Disney+Hotstar.
The latest numbers underline not only India’s passion for cricket but also the rapidly growing reach of digital sports broadcasting platforms.
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